[Warning:] Some mild action sequence ahead.
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2:04 AM.

I had woken up with a dry mouth and uncomfortable thirst. Across the bedroom I could just make out dim glowing silver threads; Jimin was asleep.

Quietly I slipped off the bed and blindly held out my hands as I tried to find the exit without bumping into or knocking anything over.

A soft pale glow lit the downstairs as moonlight streamed in through the large shadeless windows of both the kitchen and living room. Mercifully, the light stretched far enough to illuminate the stairs just enough so I wouldn't slip and pull a Jimin-with-vegetable-oil-2.0.

I had just entered the kitchen when a couple soft clicks followed by a low creak resounded behind me. I whipped around and my stomach dropped.

The front door was opening.

Instincts kicked in. I immediately dropped down onto all fours to the floor. As quickly but silently as possible I crawled across the smooth kitchen tiles to the far counter. Then, cautiously, I poked my head out.

Two dark figures stood on the threshold of the front door, moonlight spilling around them. They were both dressed in all black with full face masks obscuring any defining features.

Dammit. I swore silently as I remembered I'd left my phone upstairs. Should I scream for help? It might scare the two guys off. Or it might just alert the criminals where I was and they would try and attack me.

My eyes widened though when the intruders immediately set off towards the stairs, moving with swift purpose. A new sense of dread was pooling in my stomach. These weren't your local robbers snooping around.

They knew exactly what they were doing, where to go, what to do. The gleam of metal in their hands were unmistakeable.

The only thing upstairs was the bathroom and the bedroom.

And something told me these guys weren't here for a potty break. Jimin was asleep upstairs, vulnerable.

Resolve settled in me. I took a deep breath— and screamed. Loud. Piercing. Enough to hopefully awaken said vulnerable being upstairs.

The black clad figures halted on the stairs. For a split moment everything froze, time suspended on a thin thread.

The thread snapped.

One intruder shot upstairs while the other shot back down the stairs. Towards me.

I screamed again, for real, and leapt across the kitchen to where the utensils drawer was. I flung it open and grabbed the first blade I saw. I whipped back around just in time as the figure closed down.

Fight or flight?

I blindly swung at him.

Fight.

The criminal yelled, clearly masculine. He leapt back as the blade swiped inches from his obscured face.

He lunged again, punching. His fist clipped my shoulder but it was enough to send my slamming back against the counter. A choked gasp escaped me as my spine cracked against the marble edge.

My assailant's arm snapped up next, catching me into a chokehold. Unfortunately for him, his hand happened to be right by my mouth. I bit down. Hard.

Blood exploded my mouth. I gagged, but still managed to blindly slam my elbow as hard as possible behind me. The chokehold loosened as the man roared in pain and shoved me. My hands flew out in the nick of time to buffer the impact of my body flying towards the opposite counter. The blade in my hand twisted.

Then the criminal was grabbing my wrist, the one holding the knife, and squeezed.

I thrashed as the pressure effectively loosened my grip on the knife.

"Stop struggling," the man snarled. "We're not here for you."

That only made me fight harder. One final vicious twist and the knife fell from my hand. Disarmed now, he threw me on the ground. My breath punched out of my lungs from the impact. I couldn't move, stunned. I could only watch in breathless horror as the criminal slowly picked up the fallen knife.

And then another figure crashed into the black-clad man. Streams of blazing silver ice covered the shadowy figure of the newcomer.

The momentum of the Marked figure sent both men into the counter. The intruder bellowed and tried to bring the blade down on the Marked. The latter moved in a luminous blur, easily dodging.

Everything was happening so fast.

One moment the two men were locked in combat, grunting. The next moment the black clad man was flipped and hurled onto the ground with a solid crack. The Marked figure stood above him, the knife now in his hand and gleaming wickedly in the moonlight.

My limbs finally recovered their ability to move and I scrambled to my feet. But my motions were slow and painful. The intruder on the ground had gone utterly still and I stared. "Did you... is he dead?"

"No." Jimin flung the knife carelessly onto the counter. "Just knocked out."

I finally took in my surroundings. Jimin stood before me. His pajama top was ripped in several places and the glow of his Marks shone light on a nasty looking bruise on his cheek, already healing. But he was okay. And he had disarmed and defeated a man twice his size in seconds.

"You can fight?" I whispered, voice faint in shock.

"I was about to ask you that." Jimin glanced up from his limp opponent and met my gaze.

"I can't fight."

"Well you managed to hold your own pretty well for a bit. I thought by the time I'd get down here..." He trailed off. "Well, never mind what I thought," he muttered roughly. "You're okay."

My heart slammed in my chest as the silver-haired Outworld hopped over the slumped body to me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders with surprising gentleness and pulled me close to his body.

I let him guide me from the kitchen. "Where's the other culprit?"

"Same as this one." Jimin jerked a chin to the body behind us. "Knocked out cold."

"W-we should call the police."

"We will. But you need to sit down first. You're injured."

Was I? I blinked incoherently.

Jimin paused and gently took one of my wrists and lifted it. The palm of the hand that I'd been holding the knife was sliced open, dark blood dribbling down my skin. I hadn't even realized I'd cut myself.

"Is it going to scar?" I blinked incomprehensibly at the ugly sight.

Jimin tilted his head. Then he gently raised my hand and kissed my fingertips, a featherlike brush of his lips against my skin that sent showers of electricity down my arm. "Not anymore it won't."

And I knew this time that the reason my heart was beating so fast wasn't because of the adrenaline.

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Cover by euphoria_seagull